On the eve of another Australia Day ‘celebration’, the conversation about this day and what it means to differing members of the community continues to rage on.

It is nothing if not a topical argument that continues to divide opinion. For many Australians old and new it is a day off from work, or a chance to have a good old fashioned BBQ and a drink with your mates. In particular what concerns me of late is how this ideal has included one hell of a lot of blind ‘patriotism’ and enormous amounts of rhetoric.

Since when did your average Australian start to believe in rhetoric? Young mainly white men and women draping themselves in the flag, using it as a symbol  of their ‘pride’, synonymous with red neck politics and in my opinion a certain level of one eyed ignorance. A dying breed desperately clinging to patriarchal rule. The White Australia Policy personified.

You cannot ignore that having a national day of pride and celebration on the 26th of January, the anniversary of the day the First Fleet invaded these shores, is just plain hurtful to our indigenous population and a myriad of others. I personally find it abhorrent, and as many people start to realise the truth behind this fact, the division grows. This date has only been a national day since the mid 1990’s. Would it really be so hard to change it?

There is no denying that a growing number of our community see it as ‘Invasion Day’, a reminder of the atrocities of genocide, a genocide that still continues to this day.  A day of mourning for an ancient and magnificent culture that holds its place despite extraordinary oppression and systematic destruction.

Continuing to use January 26th as the national holiday is nothing but gratuitous proof of this.